5G FDD low latency transmission subframe structure system and method of use

ABSTRACT

Devices for and methods of providing low latency 5G FDD communications are generally described. A HARQ ACK/NACK for an xPDSCH is transmitted in the xPUCCH of the same or next subframe as the xPDSCH and xPDCCH. An xPUSCH is generated in the same subframe in response to an xPDCCH and HARQ ACK/NACK response is carried by another xPDCCH or xPHICH in the same or next sub frame. The xPDCCH and the xPUCCH are at opposite ends of the same subframe, DL and UL subframe are delayed relative to each other, or at least one of the DL and UL subframe has an additional blank portion, portion with data associated with another UE or portion that contains a reference signal, broadcast signal or control information.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/832,938, filed Mar. 27, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/069,819, filed Jul. 12, 2018, now issued as U.S.Pat. No. 10,624,156, which is a U.S. National Stage Filing under 35U.S.C. 371 from International Application No. PCT/US2016/035037, filedMay 31, 2016 and published in English as WO 2017/123276 on Jul. 20,2017, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/279,568, filed Jan. 15, 2016, and entitled“SUBFRAME STRUCTURE TO ENABLE LOW LATENCY TRANSMISSION FOR 5G FDDSYSTEM,” each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. The claims in the instant application are different than thoseof the parent application or other related applications. The Applicanttherefore rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope made in the parentapplication or any predecessor application in relation to the instantapplication. The Examiner is therefore advised that any such previousdisclaimer and the cited references that it was made to avoid, may needto be revisited. Further, any disclaimer made in the instant applicationshould not be read into or against the parent application or otherrelated applications.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to radio access networks. Some embodiments relate toproviding data in cellular and wireless local area network (WLAN)networks, including Third Generation Partnership Project Long TermEvolution (3GPP LTE) networks and LTE advanced (LTE-A) networks as wellas 4th generation (4G) networks and 5th generation (5G) networks. Someembodiments relate to Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) in 5G networks.

BACKGROUND

The use of 3GPP LTE systems (including LTE and LTE-Advanced systems) hasincreased due to both an increase in the types of devices user equipment(UEs) using network resources as well as the amount of data andbandwidth being used by various applications, such as video streaming,operating on these UEs. As a result, 3GPP LTE systems continue todevelop, with the next generation wireless communication system, 5G, toimprove access to information and data sharing. 5G looks to provide aunified network/system that is able to meet vastly different andsometime conflicting performance dimensions and services driven bydisparate services and applications while maintaining compatibility withlegacy UEs and applications. 5G systems may be designed to increaseavailable UE data rates to a peak data rate exceeding 10 Gps, support amassive number of machine type communication (MTC) UEs, and support lowlatency communications.

The increased number and types of UEs may be conducive to maximumflexibility for subframe design. In particular, when FDD is used forcommunication in a 5G system, it may be desirable for 5G subframes witha flexible structure to be used or particular 5G subframe structures tobe used to reduce latency for ultra-reliable or mission criticalapplications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. Like numerals havingdifferent letter suffixes may represent different instances of similarcomponents. The figures illustrate generally, by way of example, but notby way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the presentdocument.

FIG. 1 is a functional diagram of a wireless network in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates components of a communication device in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates another block diagram of a communication device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) Frequency DivisionDuplexing (FDD) subframes in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates self-contained subframes in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a DL subframe in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 16 illustrates a method of FDD communicating in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 17 illustrates a Time Division Duplexed (TDD) self-containedsubframe in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practicethem. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical,process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodimentsmay be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalentsof those claims.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a portion of an end-to-end networkarchitecture of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network with variouscomponents of the network in accordance with some embodiments. As usedherein, an LTE network refers to both LTE and LTE Advanced (LTE-A)networks as well as other versions of LTE networks in development, suchas 4G and 5G LTE networks. The network 100 may comprise a radio accessnetwork (RAN) (e.g., as depicted, the E-UTRAN or evolved universalterrestrial radio access network) 101 and core network 120 (e.g., shownas an evolved packet core (EPC)) coupled together through an S1interface 115. For convenience and brevity, only a portion of the corenetwork 120, as well as the RAN 101, is shown in the example.

The core network 120 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 122,serving gateway (serving GW) 124, and packet data network gateway (PDNGW) 126. The RAN 101 may include evolved node Bs (eNBs) 104 (which mayoperate as base stations) for communicating with user equipment (UE)102. The eNBs 104 may include macro eNBs 104 a and low power (LP) eNBs104 b. The eNBs 104 and UEs 102 may employ the techniques as describedherein.

The MME 122 may be similar in function to the control plane of legacyServing GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN). The MME 122 may manage mobilityaspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area listmanagement. The serving GW 124 may terminate the interface toward theRAN 101, and route data packets between the RAN 101 and the core network120. In addition, the serving GW 124 may be a local mobility anchorpoint for inter-eNB handovers and also may provide an anchor forinter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawfulintercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. The serving GW 124 andthe MME 122 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physicalnodes.

The PDN GW 126 may terminate a SGi interface toward the packet datanetwork (PDN). The PDN GW 126 may route data packets between the EPC 120and the external PDN, and may perform policy enforcement and chargingdata collection. The PDN GW 126 may also provide an anchor point formobility devices with non-LTE access. The external PDN can be any kindof IP network, as well as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) domain. ThePDN GW 126 and the serving GW 124 may be implemented in a singlephysical node or separate physical nodes.

The eNBs 104 (macro and micro) may terminate the air interface protocoland may be the first point of contact for a UE 102. In some embodiments,an eNB 104 may fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 101including, but not limited to, RNC (radio network controller functions)such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radioresource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.In accordance with embodiments. UEs 102 may be configured to communicateorthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) communication signalswith an eNB 104 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordancewith an OFDMA communication technique. The OFDM signals may comprise aplurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

The S1 interface 115 may be the interface that separates the RAN 101 andthe EPC 120. It may be split into two parts: the S1-U, which may carrytraffic data between the eNBs 104 and the serving GW 124, and theS1-MME, which may be a signaling interface between the eNBs 104 and theMME 122. The X2 interface may be the interface between eNBs 104. The X2interface may comprise two parts, the X2-C and X2-U. The X2-C may be thecontrol plane interface between the eNBs 104, while the X2-U may be theuser plane interface between the eNBs 104.

With cellular networks, LP cells 104 b may be typically used to extendcoverage to indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach well, or toadd network capacity in areas with dense usage. In particular, it may bedesirable to enhance the coverage of a wireless communication systemusing cells of different sizes, macrocells, microcells, picocells, andfemtocells, to boost system performance. The cells of different sizesmay operate on the same frequency band, or may operate on differentfrequency bands with each cell operating in a different frequency bandor only cells of different sizes operating on different frequency bands.As used herein, the term LP eNB refers to any suitable relatively LP eNBfor implementing a smaller cell (smaller than a macro cell) such as afemtocell, a picocell, or a microcell. Femtocell eNBs may be typicallyprovided by a mobile network operator to its residential or enterprisecustomers. A femtocell may be typically the size of a residentialgateway or smaller and generally connect to a broadband line. Thefemtocell may connect to the mobile operator's mobile network andprovide extra coverage in a range of typically 30 to 50 meters. Thus, aLP eNB 104 b might be a femtocell eNB since it is coupled through thePDN GW 126. Similarly, a picocell may be a wireless communication systemtypically covering a small area, such as in-building (offices, shoppingmalls, train stations, etc.), or more recently in-aircraft. A picocelleNB may generally connect through the X2 link to another eNB such as amacro eNB through its base station controller (BSC) functionality. Thus,LP eNB may be implemented with a picocell eNB since it may be coupled toa macro eNB 104 a via an X2 interface. Picocell eNBs or other LP eNBs LPeNB 104 b may incorporate some or all functionality of a macro eNB LPeNB 104 a. In some cases, this may be referred to as an access pointbase station or enterprise femtocell.

Communication over an LTE network may be split up into 10 ms radioframes, each of which may contain ten 1 ms subframes. Each subframe ofthe frame, in turn, may contain two slots of 0.5 ms. Each subframe maybe used for uplink (UL) communications from the UE 102 to the eNB 104 ordownlink (DL) communications from the eNB 104 to the UE. In oneembodiment, the eNB 104 may allocate a greater number of DLcommunications than UL communications in a particular frame. The eNB 104may schedule transmissions over a variety of frequency bands. Each slotof the subframe may contain 6-7 OFDM symbols, depending on the systemused. In one embodiment, each subframe may contain 12 subcarriers. Inthe 5G system, however, the frame size (ms), the subframe size andnumber of subframes within a frame, as well as the frame structure, maybe different from that of a 4G or LTE system. The subframe size, as wellas number of subframes in a frame, may also vary in the 5G system fromframe to frame. For example, while the frame size may remain at 10 ms inthe 5G system for downward compatibility, the subframe size may bedecreased to 0.2 ms or 0.25 ms to increase the number of subframes ineach frame.

A downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from aneNB 104 to a UE 102, while an uplink resource grid may be used foruplink transmissions from a UE 102 to an eNB 104 or from a UE 102 toanother UE 102. The resource grid may be a time-frequency grid, which isthe physical resource in the downlink in each slot. The smallesttime-frequency unit in a resource grid may be denoted as a resourceelement (RE). Each column and each row of the resource grid maycorrespond to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. Theresource grid may contain resource blocks (RBs) that describe themapping of physical channels to resource elements and physical RBs(PRBs). A PRB may be the smallest unit of resources that can beallocated to a UE. A RB in some embodiments may be 180 kHz wide infrequency and 1 slot long in time. In frequency, RBs may be either 12×15kHz subcarriers or 24×7.5 kHz subcarriers wide, dependent on the systembandwidth. In Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) systems, both theuplink and downlink frames may be 10 ms and frequency (full-duplex) ortime (half-duplex) separated. The duration of the resource grid in thetime domain corresponds to one subframe or two resource blocks. Eachresource grid may comprise 12 (subcarriers)*14 (symbols)=168 resourceelements.

Each OFDM symbol may contain a cyclic prefix (CP) which may be used toeffectively eliminate Inter Symbol Interference (ISI), and a FastFourier Transform (FFT) period. The duration of the CP may be determinedby the highest anticipated degree of delay spread. Although distortionfrom the preceding OFDM symbol may exist within the CP, with a CP ofsufficient duration, preceding OFDM symbols do not enter the FFT period.Once the FFT period signal is received and digitized, the receiver mayignore the signal in the CP.

There may be several different physical downlink channels that areconveyed using such resource blocks, including the physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) and the physical downlink shared channel(PDSCH). Each downlink subframe may be partitioned into the PDCCH andthe PDSCH. The PDCCH may normally occupy the first two symbols of eachsubframe and carry, among other things, information about the transportformat and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, as well asH-ARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. The PDSCH maycarry user data and higher layer signaling to a UE and occupy theremainder of the subframe. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigningcontrol and shared channel resource blocks to UEs within a cell) may beperformed at the eNB based on channel quality information provided fromthe UEs to the eNB, and then the downlink resource assignmentinformation may be sent to each UE on the PDCCH used for (assigned to)the UE. The PDCCH may contain downlink control information (DCI) in oneof a number of formats that indicate to the UE how to find and decodedata, transmitted on PDSCH in the same subframe, from the resource grid.The DCI format may provide details such as number of resource blocks,resource allocation type, modulation scheme, transport block, redundancyversion, coding rate etc. Each DCI format may have a cyclic redundancycode (CRC) and be scrambled with a Radio Network Temporary Identifier(RNTI) that identifies the target UE for which the PDSCH is intended.Use of the UE-specific RNTI may limit decoding of the DCI format (andhence the corresponding PDSCH) to only the intended UE.

In order to enable retransmission of missing or erroneous data, theHybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) scheme may be used to provide thefeedback on success or failure of a decoding attempt to the transmitterafter each received data block. When an eNB 104 sends data to the UE 102in a PDSCH (or 5G PDSCH, referred to as an xPDSCH), the data packets maybe sent together with indicators in a PDCCH in the same subframe thatinform the UE 102 about the scheduling of the PDSCH, including thetransmission time and other scheduling information of the transmitteddata. For each PDSCH codeword that the UE 102 receives, the UE 102 mayrespond with an ACK when the codeword is successfully decoded, or a NACKwhen the codeword is not successfully decoded. The eNB 104 may expectthe ACK/NACK feedback a predetermined time after the PDSCH data is sent.Upon receiving a NACK from the UE 102, the eNB 104 may retransmit thetransport block or skip the retransmission if the retransmission numberexceeds a maximum value. The ACK/NACK for a corresponding the PDSCH inan LTE system may be transmitted by the UE four subframes after thePDSCH is received from the eNB 104 to permit the UE 102 sufficient timeto attempt to decode the PDSCH. Depending on the number of codewordspresent. HARQ-ACK information corresponding to a PDSCH may contain, forexample, 1 or 2 information bits (DCI formats 1a and 1b, respectively).The HARQ-ACK bits may then be processed, as per the PUCCH.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using anysuitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 2 illustratescomponents of a UE in accordance with some embodiments. At least some ofthe components shown may be used in the UE 102 (or eNB 104) shown inFIG. 1 . The UE 200 and other components may be configured to use thesynchronization signals as described herein. The UE 200 may be one ofthe UEs 102 shown in FIG. 1 and may be a stationary, non-mobile deviceor may be a mobile device. In some embodiments, the UE 200 may includeapplication circuitry 202, baseband circuitry 204, Radio Frequency (RF)circuitry 206, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 208 and one or moreantennas 210, coupled together at least as shown. At least some of thebaseband circuitry 204, RF circuitry 206, and FEM circuitry 208 may forma transceiver. In some embodiments, other network elements, such as theeNB may contain some or all of the components shown in FIG. 2 . Other ofthe network elements, such as the MME, may contain an interface, such asthe S1 interface, to communicate with the eNB over a wired connectionregarding the UE.

The application or processing circuitry 202 may include one or moreapplication processors. For example, the application circuitry 202 mayinclude circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-coreor multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combinationof general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphicsprocessors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupledwith and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applicationsand/or operating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuitry 204 may include circuitry such as, but notlimited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Thebaseband circuitry 204 may include one or more baseband processorsand/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receivesignal path of the RF circuitry 206 and to generate baseband signals fora transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 206. Baseband processingcircuitry 204 may interface with the application circuitry 202 forgeneration and processing of the baseband signals and for controllingoperations of the RF circuitry 206. For example, in some embodiments,the baseband circuitry 204 may include a second generation (2G) basebandprocessor 204 a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 204 b, fourthgeneration (4G) baseband processor 204 c, and/or other basebandprocessor(s) 204 d for other existing generations, generations indevelopment or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation(5G), 5G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 204 (e.g., one or more ofbaseband processors 204 a-d) may handle various radio control functionsthat enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RFcircuitry 206. The radio control functions may include, but are notlimited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radiofrequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulationcircuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include FFT, precoding,and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In someembodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/orLow Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality.Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionalityare not limited to these examples and may include other suitablefunctionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may include elements ofa protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universalterrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, forexample, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control(RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resourcecontrol (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 204 e of thebaseband circuitry 204 may be configured to run elements of the protocolstack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. Insome embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audiodigital signal processor(s) (DSP) 204 f. The audio DSP(s) 204 f may beinclude elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation andmay include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in asingle chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board insome embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituentcomponents of the baseband circuitry 204 and the application circuitry202 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on achip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may supportcommunication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), awireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network(WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 204 is configured tosupport radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may bereferred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry. In some embodiments, thedevice can be configured to operate in accordance with communicationstandards or other protocols or standards, including Institute ofElectrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 wireless technology(WiMax), IEEE 802.11 wireless technology (WiFi) including IEEE 802.11ad, which operates in the 60 GHz millimeter wave spectrum, various otherwireless technologies such as global system for mobile communications(GSM), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE). GSM EDGE radioaccess network (GERAN), universal mobile telecommunications system(UMTS), UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), or other 2G, 3G,4G, 5G, etc. technologies either already developed or to be developed.

RF circuitry 206 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include switches, filters,amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wirelessnetwork. RF circuitry 206 may include a receive signal path which mayinclude circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEMcircuitry 208 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry204. RF circuitry 206 may also include a transmit signal path which mayinclude circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by thebaseband circuitry 204 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 208 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include a receive signalpath and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RFcircuitry 206 may include mixer circuitry 206 a, amplifier circuitry 206b and filter circuitry 206 c. The transmit signal path of the RFcircuitry 206 may include filter circuitry 206 c and mixer circuitry 206a. RF circuitry 206 may also include synthesizer circuitry 206 d forsynthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 206 a of thereceive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 206 a of the receive signal path may be configuredto down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 208 based onthe synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 206 d. Theamplifier circuitry 206 b may be configured to amplify thedown-converted signals and the filter circuitry 206 c may be a low-passfilter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwantedsignals from the down-converted signals to generate output basebandsignals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the basebandcircuitry 204 for further processing. In some embodiments, the outputbaseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although thisis not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 206 a of thereceive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206 a of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 206 d togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 208. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 206 c. The filter circuitry 206 c mayinclude a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodimentsis not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206 a of the receive signalpath and the mixer circuitry 206 a of the transmit signal path mayinclude two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadraturedownconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 206 a of the receive signal path and the mixercircuitry 206 a of the transmit signal path may include two or moremixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley imagerejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206 a of thereceive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206 a may be arranged fordirect downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 206 a of the receive signal path andthe mixer circuitry 206 a of the transmit signal path may be configuredfor super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 206 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 206.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206 d may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizercircuitry 206 d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequencymultiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with afrequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 206 d may be configured to synthesize anoutput frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 206 a of the RFcircuitry 206 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. Insome embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206 d may be a fractionalN/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 204 orthe applications processor 202 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplications processor 202.

Synthesizer circuitry 206 d of the RF circuitry 206 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Ndequal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in thedelay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to helpensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 206 d may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (f_(LO)). Insome embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include an IQ/polarconverter.

FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or moreantennas 210, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 206 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal pathwhich may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 206 for transmission by one ormore of the one or more antennas 210.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 208 may include a TX/RX switch toswitch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path.The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noiseamplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplifiedreceived RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 206). Thetransmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 208 may include a poweramplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RFcircuitry 206), and one or more filters to generate RF signals forsubsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or moreantennas 210.

In some embodiments, the UE 200 may include additional elements such as,for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/orinput/output (I/O) interface as described in more detail below. In someembodiments, the U E 200 described herein may be part of a portablewireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant(PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communicationcapability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wirelessheadset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, anaccess point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart ratemonitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that mayreceive and/or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, theUE 200 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable userinteraction with the system and/or peripheral component interfacesdesigned to enable peripheral component interaction with the system. Forexample, the UE 200 may include one or more of a keyboard, a keypad, atouchpad, a display, a sensor, a non-volatile memory port, a universalserial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power supply interface, one ormore antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, aspeaker, a microphone, and other I/O components. The display may be anLCD or LED screen including a touch screen. The sensor may include agyro sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient lightsensor, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit may communicatewith components of a positioning network, e.g., a global positioningsystem (GPS) satellite.

The antennas 210 may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectionalantennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas,patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types ofantennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas 210 may be effectivelyseparated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the differentchannel characteristics that may result.

Although the UE 200 is illustrated as having several separate functionalelements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and maybe implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such asprocessing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/orother hardware elements. For example, some elements may comprise one ormore microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio-frequencyintegrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware andlogic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein.In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or moreprocesses operating on one or more processing elements.

Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware,firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may beread and executed by at least one processor to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computer-readable storage device may include anynon-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by amachine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storagedevice may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memorydevices, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments mayinclude one or more processors and may be configured with instructionsstored on a computer-readable storage device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communication device in accordance withsome embodiments. The device may be a UE or eNB, for example, such asthe UE 102 or eNB 104 shown in FIG. 1 that may be configured to trackthe UE as described herein. The physical layer circuitry 302 may performvarious encoding and decoding functions that may include formation ofbaseband signals for transmission and decoding of received signals. Thecommunication device 300 may also include medium access control layer(MAC) circuitry 304 for controlling access to the wireless medium. Thecommunication device 300 may also include processing circuitry 306, suchas one or more single-core or multi-core processors, and memory 308arranged to perform the operations described herein. The physical layercircuitry 302, MAC circuitry 304 and processing circuitry 306 may handlevarious radio control functions that enable communication with one ormore radio networks compatible with one or more radio technologies. Theradio control functions may include signal modulation, encoding,decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. For example, similar to thedevice shown in FIG. 2 , in some embodiments, communication may beenabled with one or more of a WMAN, a WLAN, and a WPAN. In someembodiments, the communication device 300 can be configured to operatein accordance with 3GPP standards or other protocols or standards,including WiMax, WiFi, WiGig, GSM, EDGE, GERAN, UMTS, UTRAN, or other3G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc. technologies either already developed or to bedeveloped. The communication device 300 may include transceivercircuitry 312 to enable communication with other external deviceswirelessly and interfaces 314 to enable wired communication with otherexternal devices. As another example, the transceiver circuitry 312 mayperform various transmission and reception functions such as conversionof signals between a baseband range and a Radio Frequency (RF) range.

The antennas 301 may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectionalantennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas,patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types ofantennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some MIMOembodiments, the antennas 301 may be effectively separated to takeadvantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristicsthat may result.

Although the communication device 300 is illustrated as having severalseparate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements maybe combined and may be implemented by combinations ofsoftware-configured elements, such as processing elements includingDSPs, and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements maycomprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs, FPGAs, ASICs, RFICs andcombinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing atleast the functions described herein. In some embodiments, thefunctional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on oneor more processing elements. Embodiments may be implemented in one or acombination of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may also beimplemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storagedevice, which may be read and executed by at least one processor toperform the operations described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates another block diagram of a communication device inaccordance with some embodiments. In alternative embodiments, thecommunication device 400 may operate as a standalone device or may beconnected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices. In anetworked deployment, the communication device 400 may operate in thecapacity of a server communication device, a client communicationdevice, or both in server-client network environments. In an example,the communication device 400 may act as a peer communication device inpeer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Thecommunication device 400 may be a UE, eNB, PC, a tablet PC, a STB, aPDA, a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a networkrouter, switch or bridge, or any communication device capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that communication device. Further, while only a singlecommunication device is illustrated, the term “communication device”shall also be taken to include any collection of communication devicesthat individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), othercomputer cluster configurations.

Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic ora number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangibleentities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations andmay be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example,circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to externalentities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. Inan example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., astandalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardwareprocessors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g.,instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a modulethat operates to perform specified operations. In an example, thesoftware may reside on a communication device readable medium. In anexample, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of themodule, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations.

Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangibleentity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specificallyconfigured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily)configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or toperform part or all of any operation described herein. Consideringexamples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of themodules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example,where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processorconfigured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may beconfigured as respective different modules at different times. Softwaremay accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, toconstitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitutea different module at a different instance of time.

Communication device (e.g., computer system) 400 may include a hardwareprocessor 402 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combinationthereof), a main memory 404 and a static memory 406, some or all ofwhich may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 408.The communication device 400 may further include a display unit 410, analphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface(UI) navigation device 414 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the displayunit 410, input device 412 and UI navigation device 414 may be a touchscreen display. The communication device 400 may additionally include astorage device (e.g., drive unit) 416, a signal generation device 418(e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 420, and one or moresensors 421, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass,accelerometer, or other sensor. The communication device 400 may includean output controller 428, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus(USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), nearfield communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or controlone or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 416 may include a communication device readablemedium 422 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures orinstructions 424 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one ormore of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions424 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 404, within static memory 406, or within the hardware processor402 during execution thereof by the communication device 400. In anexample, one or any combination of the hardware processor 402, the mainmemory 404, the static memory 406, or the storage device 416 mayconstitute communication device readable media.

While the communication device readable medium 422 is illustrated as asingle medium, the term “communication device readable medium” mayinclude a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configuredto store the one or more instructions 424.

The term “communication device readable medium” may include any mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions forexecution by the communication device 400 and that cause thecommunication device 400 to perform any one or more of the techniques ofthe present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions.Non-limiting communication device readable medium examples may includesolid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examplesof communication device readable media may include: non-volatile memory,such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically ProgrammableRead-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such asinternal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RandomAccess Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples,communication device readable media may include non-transitorycommunication device readable media. In some examples, communicationdevice readable media may include communication device readable mediathat is not a transitory propagating signal.

The instructions 424 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 426 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 420 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols(e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission controlprotocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family ofstandards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P)networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device 420may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, orphone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communicationsnetwork 426. In an example, the network interface device 420 may includea plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one ofsingle-input multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, or multiple-inputsingle-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interfacedevice 420 may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MIMOtechniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include anyintangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carryinginstructions for execution by the communication device 400, and includesdigital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium tofacilitate communication of such software.

As above, the 5G system may either be FDD or TDD based. FIG. 17illustrates a TDD self-contained subframe in accordance with someembodiments. To enable low latency transmission for TDD enhanced mobilebroadband communication, a self-contained subframe structure 1700 mayinclude a 5G physical downlink control channel (xPDCCH) 1702, a 5Gphysical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH) 1704, a guard period (GP) 1708and a 5G physical uplink control channel (xPUCCH) 1706. A self-containedstructure, as used herein, is a subframe in which the HARQ ACK/NACK isprovided within the same subframe as the received data. The xPDSCH 1704may be transmitted immediately after the xPDCCH 1702, with the GP 1708inserted between the xPDSCH 1704 and the xPUCCH 1706 in order toaccommodate the DL to UL and UL to DL switching time and round-trippropagation delay. After decoding the xPDSCH 1704, the UE may provideHARQ-ACK or NACK feedback in the xPUCCH 1706, thereby minimizingHARQ-ACK latency for, for example, mission critical MTC andultra-reliable and low latency applications. This may be enabled in 5Gsystems as per symbol encoding may be performed in 5G systems, unlikeearlier LTE systems, thereby permitting parallel processing of thesymbols as they arrive and speeding up the overall processing of thexPDCCH and xPDSCH decoding.

The subframe structure may differ from the TDD 5G subframe structureabove for FDD 50 systems in which low latency or self-containedtransmissions are desired. Different embodiments may use differentplacements of the xPDCCH and xPUCCH. Despite this HARQ ACK/NACK feedbackfor an xPDSCH is to be transmitted within the same subframe or by thenext subframe. In particular embodiments, the xPUCCH may be allocated atthe start, at the end or at both ends of the subframe.

FIG. 5 illustrates downlink and uplink Frequency Division Duplexing(FDD) subframes in accordance with some embodiments. Both DL and ULsubframes are shown in FIG. 5 . In particular, in the downlink subframe500, the xPDCCH 502 may be transmitted at the start of the DL subframe500 and the xPDSCH 504 may be transmitted in the DL subframe 500 afterthe xPDCCH 502. On the other hand, the uplink subframe 510 contains asymmetrical structure. This is to say that in the UL subframe 510, thexPUSCH 514 may be transmitted at the start of the UL subframe 510 andthe xPUCCH 512 may be transmitted in the same subframe after the xPUSCH514.

In some embodiments, the number of symbols allocated for thetransmission of one or both of the control signals, the xPDCCH 502 orxPDSCH 504 or xPUCCH 512 or xPUSCH 514, may be predefined in thespecification. In some embodiments, the number of symbols allocated forthe transmission of one or both of the control and data signals may beconfigured by higher layer via a 5G master information block (xMIB), 5Gsystem information block (xSIB) or Radio Resource Control (RRC)signaling. In other embodiments, one or more of the control or dataregion sizes can be dynamically indicated in the dedicated controlchannel and may change between subframes or sets of subframes. Forinstance, a 5G physical control frame indicator channel (xPCFICH) can bedefined to indicate the number of symbols allocated for the xPDCCH 502and/or xPDSCH 504 and/or xPUCCH 512 and/or xPUSCH 514. In anotherembodiment, a dedicated control channel can be used to indicate thenumber of symbols allocated for the xPDCCH 502 and xPDSCH 504 whilehigher layer signaling can be used to semi-statically indicate thenumber of symbols allocated for the xPUCCH 512 and xPUSCH 514.

FIG. 6 illustrates self-contained subframes in accordance with someembodiments. In the subframe structure of FIG. 5 , self-containedtransmission may be achieved in the DL subframe 600 by puncturing a lastportion of the DL subframe 600 or by inserting additional signals in theportion of the DL subframe 600. As in FIG. 5 , the xPDCCH 602 may betransmitted at the start of the DL subframe 600 and the xPDSCH 604 maybe transmitted in the DL subframe 600 after the xPDCCH 602, while in theUL subframe 610, the xPUSCH 614 may be transmitted at the start of theUL subframe 610 and the xPUCCH 612 may be transmitted in the samesubframe after the xPUSCH 614. The xPDSCH 604 may be associated with thexPUCCH 612, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6 . The xPUCCH 612 may beused to provide ACK/NACK signals associated with the xPDSCH 604.

However, in FIG. 6 , a DL blank portion 606 of the DL subframe 600 maybe added after the xPDSCH 604. The DL blank portion 606 may entirelyoverlap the xPUCCH 612 in some embodiments, either containing the samenumber of symbols or a greater number of symbols as the xPUCCH 612. Invarious embodiments, the number of symbols allocated for the xPDSCH 604can be semi-statically configured by higher layers via xMIB, xSIB or RRCsignaling, or may be indicated dynamically in the DCI for the DLassignment.

In some embodiments, the symbols in DL blank portion 606 can bepunctured or reserved as blanked (i.e., unused). In other embodiments,the symbols in the DL blank portion 606 may be used to transmit abroadcast signal such as a physical broadcast channel (xPBCH), 5Gprimary synchronization signal (xPSS) and 5G secondary synchronizationsignal (xSSS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or5G system information block (xSIB), among others.

In other embodiments, the blank portion in FIG. 6 may be replaced withanother data portion. FIG. 7 illustrates a DL subframe in accordancewith some embodiments. As shown, the DL subframe 700 comprises an xPDCCH702 and multiple consecutive xPDSCH transmissions, xPDSCH1 704 a andxPDSCH2 704 b. Although two xPDSCH transmissions are shown, any numbermay be used, dependent on the length of the DL frame 700.

The xPDSCH transmissions 704 a, 704 b may be for different UEs or, insome embodiments, may be used for the same UE. Moreover, the number ofsymbols used for the xPDSCH transmissions 704 a, 704 b may be the sameor, as shown, may differ between the xPDSCH transmissions 704 a, 704 b.The information regarding the UEs for which the xPDSCH transmissions 704a, 704 b are intended and scheduling may be provided by the xPDCCH 702.The number of symbols used for each xPDSCH transmission 704 a. 704 b maybe indicated, as above, xMIB, xSIB or RRC signaling, or in the DCI forthe DL assignment. Self-contained transmission may be achieved for theUE associated with xPDSCH1 704 a, but not for the UE associated withxPDSCH2 704 b. The HARQ ACK/NACK feedback for xPDSCH2 704 b may betransmitted in the xPUCCH of the next subframe.

FIG. 8 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments. The DL subframe 800 comprises an xPDCCH 802 and an xPDSCH804. The U L subframe 810 comprises an xPUCCH 812 and an xPUSCH 814. TheUL subframe 810, like the DL subframe shown in FIG. 6 , may have a ULblank portion 816 before the xPUSCH 814. The UL blank portion 816 mayentirely overlap the xPDCCH 802 in some embodiments, either containingthe same number of symbols or a greater number of symbols as the xPDCCH802. The xPDCCH 802 may be used to indicate the xPUSCH 814 opportunityto the UE, and thus be associated with the xPUSCH 814, as indicated bythe arrow in FIG. 8 .

In some embodiments, the symbols in UL blank portion 816 can bepunctured or reserved as blanked. In other embodiments, the symbols inthe UL blank portion 816 may be used to transmit additional signaling,such as a sounding reference signal (SRS), an xPRACH, or xPUSCH foranother UE to improve the spectrum efficiency.

Self-contained UL transmission may not be able to be achieved as the eNBmay use the xPDCCH 802 or 5G physical HARQ indicator channel (xPHICH) tocarry UL HARQ ACK/NACK feedback in the next subframe. Similar to the DLtransmission, the starting and last symbol for the xPUSCH transmission812 can be semi-statically set by higher layers via xMIB, xSIB or RRCsignaling or may be dynamically indicated in the DCI for UL grant.

In other embodiments, the UL portion that is not used for an xPUSCH ofthe UE may be disposed in an alternative location and used to provideother signaling. FIG. 9 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes inaccordance with some embodiments. Similar to the above embodiments, inFIG. 9 each of a plurality of DL subframes 900 comprises an xPDCCH 902a, 902 b, 902 c and an xPDSCH 904 a, 904 b, 904 c. Each of a pluralityof UL subframes 910 comprises an xPUSCH 914 a, 914 b, 914 c and anxPUCCH 912 a, 912 b, 912 c following the xPUSCH 914 a, 914 b, 914 c. Inaddition, in at least one of the subframes, the xPUSCH 914 b maycomprise multiple xPUSCHs 914 b 1, xPUSCH 914 b 2 for different UEs.Although only two xPUSCHs are shown, a greater number may be used solong as the xPUSCHs occupy in total the same number of symbols as thetotal number of symbols used by the other xPUSCHs 914 a, 914 c.

Cross-subframe scheduling may be applied for some, but not all, of thexPUSCHs as shown in FIG. 9 . As shown, cross-subframe scheduling may beused to schedule the first xPUSCH 914 b 1 (for the first UE). The xPDCCH902 a of an immediately previous subframe may be used to schedule thefirst xPUSCH 914 b 1. In FIG. 9 , the second xPUSCH 914 b 2 (for thesecond UE—the later xPUSCH) may use same subframe scheduling. For lowlatency transmission, the UL HARQ ACK/NACK for both the first and secondxPUSCH 914 b 1, 914 b 2 may be transmitted in the UL subframeimmediately succeeding the UL subframe in which the xPUSCH istransmitted, as shown in FIG. 9 . Thus, the UL HARQ ACK/NACK timing maydiffer between xPUSCH1 and xPUSCH2 (e.g., for different UEs). In otherembodiments, the HARQ ACK/NACK associated with different xPUSCHs fromdifferent subframes may be coordinated to be received in an xPDCCH,which may be in a different subframe from any of the xPUSCH. In somecircumstances, the HARQ ACK/NACK associated with one xPUSCH may resultin a self-contained structure while associated with another xPUSCH mayresult in a structure in which the HARQ ACK/NACK is provided in the nextsubframe.

More generally, the xPDCCH of a previous subframe may be used toschedule one of the xPUSCHs in a particular subframe. Moreover, thexPDCCHs of multiple previous subframes may be used to schedule differentxPUSCHs in the same subframe. In some embodiments, the xPUSCHs maycorrespond in time with the time of assignment by the xPDCCHs so thatthe first xPUSCH is assigned by the first xPDCCH, the second xPUSCH isassigned by the second xPDCCH, etc. . . . . In other embodiments, thexPDCCH may indicate which of the xPUSCHs is being assigned so that theorder of the xPUSCHs may be different from the order of assignment bythe xPDCCHs. In some embodiments, however, the last xPUSCH in thesubframe may be reserved for same subframe scheduling. In someembodiments, each xPUSCH may be associated with a different UE. In otherembodiments, at least some of the xPUSCHs may be associated with thesame UE, with the xPUSCHs associated with the same UE being consecutiveor non-consecutive.

Although the various embodiments shown in the previous figures have DLand UL subframes that occur at the same time, in other embodiments, thismay not be the case. FIG. 10 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes inaccordance with some embodiments. In FIG. 10 , each of a plurality of DLsubframes 1000 comprises an xPDCCH 1002 a, 1002 b, 1002 c and an xPDSCH1004 a, 1004 b, 1004 c following the associated xPDCCH 1002 a, 1002 b,1002 c. Each of a plurality of UL subframes 1010 comprises an xPUSCH1014 a, 1014 b. 1014 c and an xPUCCH 1012 a, 1012 b, 1012 c followingthe xPUSCH 1014 a, 1014 b, 1014 c. As shown, the timing of each ULsubframe 1010 may be delayed relative to the DL subframe 1000 by a ULdelay. The time difference between the end of the xPDCCH 1002 a, 1002 b,1002 c and the beginning of the xPUSCH 1014 a. 1014 b, 1014 c is thexPUSCH scheduling delay. The time difference between the beginning ofthe xPDCCH 1002 a. 1002 b, 1002 c and the beginning of the xPUCCH 1012a, 1012 b, 1012 c is the xPDSCH processing time, while the timedifference between the beginning of the xPUCCH 1012 a, 1012 b, 1012 cand the beginning of the xPDCCH 1002 a, 1002 b, 1002 c is the xPUSCHprocessing time.

The amount of UL delay can be a fixed parameter (fixed byspecification). In other embodiments, the amount of UL delay may beconfigurable on a cell-by-cell basis. In some embodiments, the amount ofUL delay may be provided to the UEs via an xMIB or xSIB transmission.The amount of the UL delay provides a tradeoff between the availablexPUSCH processing time and the available xPDSCH processing time andxPUSCH scheduling delay. In some embodiments, the delay may be chosen toaccount for propagation delay and processing times of the control anddata channels, and permit both UL and DL low latency operation withoutproviding blank xPDSCH or xPUSCH symbols. The time delay may be used toavoid providing a blank portion (see, e.g., FIG. 12 ) to permitprocessing of the xPDSCH to occur to enable a HARQ ACK/NACK response tobe transmitted.

In each of the embodiments of FIGS. 5-10 , the xPUCCH is disposed at theend of the UL subframe, with the xPUSCH accordingly disposed at thefront of the UL subframe. FIG. 11 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes inaccordance with some embodiments. As shown, in the downlink subframe1100, the xPDCCH 1102 may be transmitted at the start of the DL subframe1100 and the xPDSCH 1104 may be transmitted in the DL subframe 1100after the xPDCCH 1102. Similarly, in the UL subframe 1110, the xPUCCH1112 may be transmitted at the start of the U L subframe 1110 and thexPUSCH 1114 may be transmitted in the same subframe after the xPUCCH1112. In this embodiment, fully self-contained transmission may not beachieved for both the DL and UL subframes 1200, 1210 due to the factthat the HARQ ACK/NACK may be transmitted in the subframe immediatelyfollowing data transmission. However, a fully symmetric DL/UL design canbe achieved for this subframe structure as depicted.

FIG. 12 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments. Similar to FIG. 11 , in each DL subframe 1200, the xPDCCH1202 a, 1202 b may be transmitted at the start of the DL subframe 1200and the xPDSCH 1204 a, 1204 b may be transmitted in the DL subframe 1200after the xPDCCH 1202 a, 1202 b. Similarly, in each UL subframe 1210,the xPUCCH 1212 a, 1212 b may be transmitted at the start of the ULsubframe 1210 and the xPUSCH 1214 a, 1214 b may be transmitted in thesame subframe after the xPUCCH 1212 a. 1212 b.

In addition, a DL blank portion 1206 a, 1206 b may be disposed betweenthe xPDCCH 1202 a. 1202 b and the xPDSCH 1204 a, 1204 b of a particularsubframe, and an UL blank portion 1216 a, 1216 b may be disposed betweenthe xPUCCH 1212 a. 1212 b and the xPUSCH 1214 a, 1214 b of a particularsubframe. This is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 in which alast portion of each of the DL and UL subframe 1200, 1210 may bepunctured or may be used for the transmission of other signals. The DLblank portion 1206 a, 1206 b and UL blank portion 1216 a, 1216 b may beof sufficient length (number of symbols) to allow the UE to receive anddecode the data channel and prepare the HARQ ACK/NACK transmission.However, given that the HARQ ACK/NACK is transmitted in the subframeimmediately succeeding the data transmission, less overhead (fewersymbols) or better spectrum efficiency may be achieved compared to thatshown in FIG. 6 .

FIG. 13 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments. The embodiment of FIG. 13 is similar to FIG. 10 : each of aplurality of DL subframes 1300 comprises an xPDCCH 1302 a, 1302 b, 1302c and an xPDSCH 1304 a. 1304 b, 1304 c following the associated xPDCCH1302 a, 1302 b, 1302 c. Each of a plurality of UL subframes 1313comprises an xPUSCH 1314 a, 1314 b, 1314 c and an xPUCCH 1312 a, 1312 b,1312 c following the xPUSCH 1314 a, 1314 b, 1314 c. As shown, the timingof each UL subframe 1313 may be delayed relative to the DL subframe 1300by a UL delay. The time difference between the end of the xPDCCH 1302 a,1302 b. 1302 c and the beginning of the xPUSCH 1314 a, 1314 b, 1314 c isthe xPUSCH scheduling delay. The time difference between the beginningof the xPDCCH 1302 a, 1302 b. 1302 c and the beginning of the xPUCCH1312 a, 1312 b, 1312 c is the xPDSCH processing time, while the timedifference between the beginning of the xPUCCH 1312 a, 1312 b, 1312 cand the beginning of the xPDCCH 1302 a, 1302 b, 1302 c is the xPUSCHprocessing time.

The amount of UL delay can be a fixed parameter (fixed byspecification). In other embodiments, the amount of UL delay may beconfigurable on a cell-by-cell basis. In some embodiments, the amount ofUL delay may be provided to the UEs via an xMIB or xSIB transmission.The amount of the UL delay provides a tradeoff between the availablexPUSCH processing time and the available xPDSCH processing time andxPUSCH scheduling delay. In some embodiments, the delay may be chosen toaccount for propagation delay and processing times of the control anddata channels, and permit both UL and DL low latency operation withoutproviding blank xPDSCH or xPUSCH symbols.

FIG. 14 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments. The DL subframe 1400 comprises an xPDCCH 1402 transmittedat the start of the DL subframe 1400, an xPDSCH 1404 transmitted afterthe xPDCCH 1402 and an xPHICH or xPDCCH 1406 transmitted at the end ofthe DL subframe 1400 after the xPDSCH 1404. The UL subframe 1410comprises a first xPUCCH 1412 a transmitted at the start of the ULsubframe 1410, an xPUSCH 1414 transmitted after the first xPUCCH 1412 aand a second xPUCCH 1412 b transmitted after the xPUSCH 11414 at the endof the UL subframe 1410. Thus, DL and UL control channels are allocatedat each end of the DL and UL subframe 1400, 1410. Although an xPHICH1406 is shown as being allocated at the end of the DL subframe 1400, insome embodiments another xPDCCH may be allocated in the last portion ofthe DL subframe 1400.

Embodiments in which control channels are present at both ends of thesubframe may be able to achieve full self-contained transmission withinone subframe for both DL and UL subframes. Such a subframe structure maybe desirable for mission critical MTC applications, for whichultra-reliable and low latency communications may be paramount.

FIG. 15 illustrates DL and UL FDD subframes in accordance with someembodiments. The DL subframe 1500 comprises an xPDCCH 1502 transmittedat the start of the DL subframe 1500, an xPDSCH 1504 transmitted afterthe xPDCCH 1502, a blank portion 1508 transmitted after the xPDSCH 1504and an xPHICH or another xPDCCH 1506 transmitted at a DL blank portionof the DL subframe 1500 after the blank portion 1508. The UL subframe1510 comprises a first xPUCCH 1512 a transmitted at the start of the ULsubframe 1510, an xPUSCH 1514 transmitted after the first xPUCCH 1512 a,a blank portion 1518 transmitted after the xPUSCH 1514 and a secondxPUCCH 1512 b transmitted at the end of the UL subframe 1510 after theblank portion 1518. As in FIG. 14 , DL and UL control channels areallocated at each end of the DL and UL subframe 1500, 1510. The blankportions 1508, 1518 of the DL and UL subframe may be punctured or other,non-data signals may be inserted to enable fully self-containedtransmission within one subframe. The non-data signals may include oneor more of reference signals, such as an SRS or xPRACH, reports, such asa CSI report, and broadcast signals.

As shown, the xPDSCH 1504 may be transmitted in the DL subframe 1500after the associated xPDCCH 1502. The UE may provide the DL HARQACK/NACK feedback via the second xPUCCH 1512 b in the same subframe. Insome embodiments, the second xPUCCH 1512 b in the last portion ofsubframe may be used only to carry DL HARQ ACK/NACK. Similarly, thexPUSCH 1514 may be transmitted after the associated first xPDCCH 1512 ain the UL subframe 1510. The eNB may provide the UL HARQ ACK/NACKfeedback via the xPHICH 1506 (or a second xPDCCH that replaces the PHICH1506 in a different embodiment) in the same subframe. In someembodiments, the first partition of subframe can be allocated for anxPUCCH 1512 a that may be used to carry a scheduling request (SR) and/orCSI report. In other embodiments, the xPUCCH 1512 a may in addition orinstead report a periodic Buffer Status Report (BSR) via the firstxPUCCH 1512 a. The signal format of the first xPUCCH 1512 a may thus bedifferent from that of the second xPUCCH 1512 b. The SRS may be insertedbetween the first xPUCCH 1512 a and the xPUSCH 1514 or between thexPUSCH 1514 and the second xPUCCH 1512 b. Note that in FIG. 15 both theUL and DL subframes 1500, 1510 are self-contained as both the UL and DLHARQ ACK/NACK are received in the same subframe as the associated datachannel (xPUSCH and xPDSCH).

FIG. 16 illustrates a method of FDD communicating in accordance withsome embodiments. The method may be performed by any of the UEs shownand described in FIGS. 1-4 and use any of the DL or UL transmissionsshown in FIGS. 5-15 . Embodiments of the method may thus includeadditional or fewer operations or processes in comparison to what isillustrated in FIG. 16 . In addition, embodiments of the method are notnecessarily limited to the chronological order that is shown in FIG. 16. In addition, while the method and other methods described herein mayrefer to UEs operating in accordance with 3GPP or other standards,embodiments of those methods are not limited to just those UEs and mayalso be practiced by other communication devices. For example, whileUE-eNB communications are shown in the various figures, in someembodiments one or more of the portions of the FDD subframes may beallocated for device-to-device (D2D) communications.

At operation 1602, the UE may receive DL and UL FDD subframeconfiguration. The information may indicate which of the different typesof subframe configurations shown in FIGS. 5-15 are to be used forcommunication with the eNB. For example, the configuration informationmay indicate the number of symbols that are used in each portion of theUL and DL FDD subframe, what FDD subframe structure is used, includingwhich portions are present within a particular FDD subframe as well astheir placement, the delay between the DL and UL FDD subframe and HARQACK/NACK timing specifics, among others. The FDD subframe configurationmay be provided in a MIB, SIB, RRC signaling or other higher layersignaling.

At operation 904, the UE may communicate with the eNB using the FDDsubframe configuration information. This includes contemporaneouslytransmitting and receiving FDD control or data signals. For example, theUE may receive and decode DL signals. The DL subframe comprises multiplexPDCCH transmissions, of which one or more may be intended for the UE(e.g., the configuration information may indicate that only one xPDCCHmay be used in a particular subframe for a particular UE and thus the UEmay avoid decoding certain xPDCCHs, or that any of the xPDCCHs may beused for any UE), and/or that a portion of the DL subframe may be blankto permit the UE to decode the scheduling information provided in thexPDCCH or reserved for particular signaling, such as a broadcast signal.For example, the DL FDD subframe may contain multiple xPDCCHs and/orxPDSCHs for the UE or different UEs. The UE may receive an xPDCCHtransmission and, from the configuration information, decode the xPDCCHand determine whether the xPDCCH is addressed to the U E.

In response to determining that the xPDCCH is associated with the UE,the UE may generate and transmit an xPUSCH indicated by the xPDCCH. TheUL FDD subframe, as indicated in the FDD subframe configuration of 902,may include one or more xPUCCHs and/or xPUSCHs, as well as blank portionand/or reserved for particular non-data signaling, such as reporttransmission.

Once the UL/DL data and control information has been received atoperation 904, the UE and/or eNB may communicate HARQ ACK/NACK atoperation 906. In particular, due to the 5G FDD subframe configuration,the HARQ ACK/NACK may be provided either in the same FDD subframe or inan immediately succeeding FDD subframe. For example, unlike LTE basedsystems, in which the HARQ ACK/NACK response takes multiple subframes tobe received, the DL HARQ ACK/NACK may be disposed in the same FDDsubframe in situations in which the xPDSCH is disposed at the beginningof the DL FDD subframe and the xPUCCH (or one of the xPUCCHs) isdisposed at the end of the UL FDD subframe. Otherwise, the DL HARQACK/NACK may be disposed in the next subframe. Similarly, the UL HARQACK/NACK may be disposed in the same FDD subframe in situations in whichthe xPUSCH is disposed at the beginning of the UL FDD subframe and thexPDCCH (or one of the xPDCCHs) is disposed at the end of the DL FDDsubframe. In embodiments in which multiple xPUSCHs or xPDSCHs aredisposed in a single FDD subframe, the HARQ ACK/NACK associated with thexPUSCHs or xPDSCHs may be combined and communicated in the next xPDCCHor xPUCCH, respectively. This may reduce the latency of the HARQACK/NACK signals, allowing the system to be used for low-latencyultra-reliable or mission critical applications. The eNB may, in fact,select the FDD subframe configuration based on the UE applicationsprovided by the UE in separate signaling. The eNB may, for example,modify the FDD configuration to permit same FDD subframe HARQ ACK/NACKtransmissions when ultra-reliable or mission critical applications arebeing used by the UE.

EXAMPLES

In Example 1, the subject matter of Example undefined optionallyincludes An apparatus of user equipment (U E), the apparatus comprising:a memory; and processing circuitry in communication with the memory andconfigurable to: decode a 5th generation (5G) physical downlink controlchannel (xPDCCH) and associated 5G physical downlink shared channel(xPDSCH) received within a current frequency division duplex (FDD)subframe from an evolved NodeB (eNB) and generate a Hybrid AutomaticRepeat Request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement(NACK) for the xPDSCH for transmission via a 5G physical uplink controlchannel (xPUCCH) in the current FDD subframe or in a next FDD subframeimmediately following the current FDD subframe; and decode an xPDCCHreceived within the current FDD subframe, generate a 5G physical uplinkshared channel (xPUSCH) within the current FDD subframe in response tothe xPDCCH and, in response to transmission of the xPUSCH, decode a HARQACK/NACK carried by another xPDCCH or a 5G physical HARQ indicatorchannel (xPHICH) in the current FDD subframe or in the next FDDsubframe.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes,wherein: the xPDSCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPDCCH and the xPUCCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPUSCH.

In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 optionally includes,wherein: a portion of the current FDD subframe after the xPDSCHcomprises symbols that overlap in time with the xPUCCH such that thexPUCCH fully overlaps the portion, and for self-contained DLtransmission the portion is one of: punctured or blanked, or comprisesone of: a physical broadcast channel (xPBCH), a 5G primarysynchronization signal (xPSS) and 5G secondary synchronization signal(xSSS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or a 5Gsystem information block (xSIB).

In Example 4, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 2-3optionally include, wherein: a portion of the current FDD subframe afterthe xPDSCH comprises the other xPDSCH, which is associated with one ofthe UE or a different UE.

In Example 5, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 2-4optionally include, wherein: A portion of the current FDD subframebefore the xPUSCH comprises symbols that overlap in time with the xPDCCHsuch that the xPDCCH fully overlaps the portion, and for self-containedUL transmission the portion is punctured, blanked or comprises areference or control signal from the UE.

In Example 6, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 2-5optionally include, wherein: a portion of the current FDD subframebefore the xPUSCH comprises another xPUSCH associated with one of the UEor a different UE.

In Example 7, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-6optionally include, wherein: for self-contained downlink (DL) and uplink(UL) transmission, the xPUCCH and xPUSCH is delayed relative to thexPDCCH and xPDSCH, and an amount of delay is a parameter that is fixedby a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification orconfigurable on a cell-by-cell basis via a 5G master information block(xMIB), a 5G system information block (xSIB) or a Radio Resource Control(RRC) signaling.

In Example 8, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-7optionally include, wherein: the xPDCCH is disposed in a portion of thecurrent FDD subframe, the xPDSCH is disposed after the xPDCCH, and theother xPDCCH or the xPHICH is allocated in a portion of the current FDDsubframe, and a first xPUCCH is disposed in the portion, a second xPUCCHis disposed in the portion of the current FDD subframe and the xPUSCH isdisposed between the xPUCCHs.

In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 8 optionally includes,wherein: the first xPUCCH is allocated to carry at least one of ascheduling request (SR), a channel state information (CSI) report or aperiodic Buffer Status Report (BSR) report.

In Example 10, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 8-9optionally include, wherein: a signal format of the first xPUCCH isdifferent from a signal format of the second xPUCCH, and the secondxPUCCH is reserved for a HARQ ACK/NACK transmission.

In Example 11, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 8-10optionally include, wherein: a sounding reference signal (SRS) isdisposed between at least one of the first xPUCCH and the xPDSCH, andthe xPUSCH and the second xPUCCH.

In Example 12, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 8-11optionally include, wherein: a portion of the current FDD subframe atleast one of between the xPDSCH and the xPDCCH or xPHICH and between thexPUSCH and the xPUCCH is punctured or contains at least one reference orcontrol signal.

In Example 13, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-12optionally include, wherein: the xPDCCH is disposed in a portion of thecurrent FDD subframe and the xPDSCH is disposed after the xPDCCH, andthe xPUCCH is disposed in the portion of the current FDD subframe andthe xPUSCH is disposed after the xPUCCH.

In Example 14, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-13optionally include, wherein: the processing circuitry comprises basebandcircuitry configured to determine at least one of a number of symbolsallocated for the xPDCCH or xPUCCH or a starting and last symbol for thexPDSCH or xPUSCH, and at least one of: the number of symbols is one of:predefined in a third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)specification, configured by higher layer signaling via a 5G masterinformation block (xMIB), a 5G system information block (xSIB) or aRadio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, or dynamically indicated in a 5Gphysical control frame indicator channel (xPCFICH), and the starting andlast symbol is one of: semi-statically configured by higher layers viathe xMIB, the xSIB or the RRC signaling, or dynamically indicated indownlink control information (DCI) for an downlink or uplink grant.

In Example 15, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-14optionally include, further comprising: an antenna configured to providecommunications between the UE and the eNB.

Example 16, includes an apparatus of an evolved NodeB (eNB) comprising:a memory; and processing circuitry in communication with the memory andconfigurable to: within a current frequency division duplex (FDD)subframe: generate, for transmission to a user equipment (UE), adownlink (DL) FDD subframe comprising 5th generation (5G) (xPDCCH) andassociated 5G physical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH), and generate anxPDCCH and decode a 5G physical uplink shared channel (xPUSCH) of anuplink (UL) FDD subframe in response to transmission of the xPDCCH, theUL comprising a 5G physical uplink control channel (xPUCCH) and thexPUSCH, and within at most one FDD subframe from the current FDDsubframe: decode a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) for the xPDSCHfrom the xPUCCH, and in response to reception of the xPUSCH, generate aHARQ ACK/NACK to be carried by another xPDCCH or a 5G physical HARQindicator channel (xPHICH).

In Example 17, the subject matter of Example 16 optionally includes,wherein at least one of the xPDCCH and the xPUCCH are disposed atopposite ends of the current FDD subframe, the DL and UL FDD subframeare delayed relative to each other, or at least one of the DL and UL FDDsubframe comprises an additional portion that is configured to be blank,that comprises data associated with the UE or another UE or thatcomprises at least one of a broadcast signal or control informationassociated with the UE.

In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17 optionally includes,wherein: the xPDSCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPDCCH and the xPUCCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPUSCH, and a portion of the current FDD subframe after the xPDSCHoverlaps with the xPUCCH, and the portion one of: is blank, comprisesanother xPDSCH, which is associated with a different UE, or comprisesone of: a physical broadcast channel (xPBCH), a 5G primarysynchronization signal (xPSS) and 5G secondary synchronization signal(xSSS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or a 5Gsystem information block (xSIB).

In Example 19, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 17-18optionally include, wherein: the xPDSCH is disposed in the current FDDsubframe after the xPDCCH and the xPUCCH is disposed in the current FDDsubframe after the xPUSCH, and a portion of the current FDD subframebefore the xPUSCH overlaps with the xPDCCH, and the portion one of: isblank, comprises an xPUSCH associated with a different UE, or comprisesa reference or control signal.

In Example 20, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 17-19optionally include, wherein: the xPDCCH is disposed in a portion of thecurrent FDD subframe, the xPDSCH is disposed after the xPDCCH, and theother xPDCCH or the xPHICH is allocated in a portion of the current FDDsubframe, a first xPUCCH is disposed in the portion, a second xPUCCH isdisposed in the portion of the current FDD subframe and the xPUSCH isdisposed between the xPUCCHs, and one of: the first xPUCCH is allocatedto carry at least one of a scheduling request (SR), a channel stateinformation (CSI) report or a periodic Buffer Status Report (BSR)report, a signal format of the first xPUCCH is different from a signalformat of the second xPUCCH, and the second xPUCCH is reserved for aHARQ ACK/NACK transmission, a reference signal is disposed between atleast one of: the first xPUCCH and the xPUSCH, and the xPUSCH and thesecond xPUCCH, or a portion of the current FDD subframe at least one ofbetween the xPDSCH and the xPDCCH or xPHICH and between the xPUSCH andthe xPUCCH is punctured or contains at least one reference or controlsignal.

Example 21 includes a computer-readable storage medium that storesinstructions for execution by one or more processors of user equipment(UE), the one or more processors to configure the UE to at least one of:decode a 5th generation (5G) physical downlink control channel (xPDCCH)and associated 5G physical downlink shared channel (xPDSCH) within acurrent frequency division duplex (FDD) subframe from an evolved NodeB(eNB) and generate a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) for the xPDSCH fortransmission via a 5G physical uplink control channel (xPUCCH) in thecurrent FDD subframe or in a next FDD subframe immediately following thecurrent FDD subframe: or decode an xPDCCH within the current FDDsubframe, generate a 5G physical uplink shared channel (xPUSCH) withinthe current FDD subframe in response to the xPDCCH and, in response totransmission of the xPUSCH, decode a HARQ ACK/NACK carried by anotherxPDCCH or a 5G physical HARQ indicator channel (xPHICH) in the currentFDD subframe or in the next FDD subframe, wherein one of: the xPDCCH andthe xPUCCH are disposed at opposite ends of the current FDD subframe, orat least one of the DL and UL FDD subframe comprises an additionalportion that is configured to be blank, that comprises data associatedwith the UE or another UE or that comprises at least one of a broadcastsignal or control information associated with the UE.

In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21 optionally includes,wherein: the xPDSCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPDCCH and the xPUCCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPUSCH, and: at least one of a portion of the current FDD subframe afterthe xPDSCH overlaps with the xPUCCH or another portion of the currentFDD subframe before the xPUSCH overlaps with the xPDCCH, and the portionor the other portion one of: is blank, comprises the other xPDSCH or anxPUSCH associated with a different UE, or comprises a reference orcontrol signal.

In Example 23, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 21-22optionally include, wherein: the xPDCCH is disposed in a portion of thecurrent FDD subframe, the xPDSCH is disposed after the xPDCCH, and theother xPDCCH or the xPHICH is allocated in a portion of the current FDDsubframe, a first xPUCCH is disposed in the portion, a second xPUCCH isdisposed in the portion of the current FDD subframe and the xPUSCH isdisposed between the xPUCCHs, and one of: the first xPUCCH is allocatedto carry at least one of a scheduling request (SR), a channel stateinformation (CSI) report or a periodic Buffer Status Report (BSR)report, a signal format of the first xPUCCH is different from a signalformat of the second xPUCCH, and the second xPUCCH is reserved for aHARQ ACK/NACK transmission, a reference signal is disposed between atleast one of: the first xPUCCH and the xPUSCH, and the xPUSCH and thesecond xPUCCH, or a first xPUCCH is disposed in the initial portion, asecond xPUCCH is disposed in the portion of the current FDD subframe andthe xPUSCH is disposed between the xPUCCHs, and a portion of the currentFDD subframe at least one of between the xPDSCH and the xPDCCH or xPHICHand between the xPUSCH and the xPUCCH is punctured or contains at leastone reference or control signal.

Example 24 includes an apparatus of a user equipment (UE), the apparatuscomprising at least one of: means for decoding a 5th generation (5G)physical downlink control channel (xPDCCH) and associated 5G physicaldownlink shared channel (xPDSCH) within a current frequency divisionduplex (FDD) subframe from an evolved NodeB (eNB) and generate a HybridAutomatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK)/NegativeAcknowledgement (NACK) for the xPDSCH for transmission via a 5G physicaluplink control channel (xPUCCH) in the current FDD subframe or in a nextFDD subframe immediately following the current FDD subframe; or meansfor decoding an xPDCCH within the current FDD subframe, generate a 5Gphysical uplink shared channel (xPUSCH) within the current FDD subframein response to the xPDCCH and, in response to transmission of thexPUSCH, decode a HARQ ACK/NACK carried by another xPDCCH or a 5Gphysical HARQ indicator channel (xPHICH) in the current FDD subframe orin the next FDD subframe, wherein one of: the xPDCCH and the xPUCCH aredisposed at opposite ends of the current FDD subframe, or at least oneof the DL and UL FDD subframe comprises an additional portion that isconfigured to be blank, that comprises data associated with the UE oranother UE or that comprises at least one of a broadcast signal orcontrol information associated with the UE.

In Example 25, the subject matter of Example 24 optionally includes,wherein: the xPDSCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPDCCH and the xPUCCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPUSCH, and: at least one of a portion of the current FDD subframe afterthe xPDSCH overlaps with the xPUCCH or another portion of the currentFDD subframe before the xPUSCH overlaps with the xPDCCH, and the portionor the other portion one of: is blank, comprises the other xPDSCH or anxPUSCH associated with a different UE, or comprises a reference orcontrol signal.

In Example 26, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 24-25optionally include, wherein: the xPDCCH is disposed in a portion of thecurrent FDD subframe, the xPDSCH is disposed after the xPDCCH, and theother xPDCCH or the xPHICH is allocated in a portion of the current FDDsubframe, a first xPUCCH is disposed in the portion, a second xPUCCH isdisposed in the portion of the current FDD subframe and the xPUSCH isdisposed between the xPUCCHs, and one of: the first xPUCCH is allocatedto carry at least one of a scheduling request (SR), a channel stateinformation (CSI) report or a periodic Buffer Status Report (BSR)report, a signal format of the first xPUCCH is different from a signalformat of the second xPUCCH, and the second xPUCCH is reserved for aHARQ ACK/NACK transmission, a reference signal is disposed between atleast one of the first xPUCCH and the xPUSCH, and the xPUSCH and thesecond XPUCCH, or a first xPUCCH is disposed in the initial portion, asecond xPUCCH is disposed in the portion of the current FDD subframe andthe xPUSCH is disposed between the xPUCCHs, and a portion of the currentFDD subframe at least one of between the xPDSCH and the xPDCCH or xPHICHand between the xPUSCH and the xPUCCH is punctured or contains at leastone reference or control signal.

Example 27 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), themethod comprising at least one of: decoding a 5th generation (5G)physical downlink control channel (xPDCCH) and associated 5G physicaldownlink shared channel (xPDSCH) within a current frequency divisionduplex (FDD) subframe from an evolved NodeB (eNB) and generate a HybridAutomatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK)/NegativeAcknowledgement (NACK) for the xPDSCH for transmission via a 5G physicaluplink control channel (xPUCCH) in the current FDD subframe or in a nextFDD subframe immediately following the current FDD subframe; or decodingan xPDCCH within the current FDD subframe, generate a 5G physical uplinkshared channel (xPUSCH) within the current FDD subframe in response tothe xPDCCH and, in response to transmission of the xPUSCH, decode a HARQACK/NACK carried by another xPDCCH or a 5G physical HARQ indicatorchannel (xPHICH) in the current FDD subframe or in the next FDDsubframe, wherein one of: the xPDCCH and the xPUCCH are disposed atopposite ends of the current FDD subframe, or at least one of the DL andUL FDD subframe comprises an additional portion that is configured to beblank, that comprises data associated with the UE or another UE or thatcomprises at least one of a broadcast signal or control informationassociated with the UE.

In Example 28, the subject matter of Example 27 optionally includes,wherein: the xPDSCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPDCCH and the xPUCCH is disposed in the current FDD subframe after thexPUSCH, and: at least one of a portion of the current FDD subframe afterthe xPDSCH overlaps with the xPUCCH or another portion of the currentFDD subframe before the xPUSCH overlaps with the xPDCCH, and the portionor the other portion one of: is blank, comprises the other xPDSCH or anxPUSCH associated with a different UE, or comprises a reference orcontrol signal.

In Example 29, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 27-28optionally include, wherein: the xPDCCH is disposed in a portion of thecurrent FDD subframe, the xPDSCH is disposed after the xPDCCH, and theother xPDCCH or the xPHICH is allocated in a portion of the current FDDsubframe, a first xPUCCH is disposed in the portion, a second xPUCCH isdisposed in the portion of the current FDD subframe and the xPUSCH isdisposed between the xPUCCHs, and one of the first xPUCCH is allocatedto carry at least one of a scheduling request (SR), a channel stateinformation (CSI) report or a periodic Buffer Status Report (BSR)report, a signal format of the first xPUCCH is different from a signalformat of the second xPUCCH, and the second xPUCCH is reserved for aHARQ ACK/NACK transmission, a reference signal is disposed between atleast one of: the first xPUCCH and the xPUSCH, and the xPUSCH and thesecond xPUCCH, or a first xPUCCH is disposed in the initial portion, asecond xPUCCH is disposed in the portion of the current FDD subframe andthe xPUSCH is disposed between the xPUCCHs, and a portion of the currentFDD subframe at least one of between the xPDSCH and the xPDCCH or xPHICHand between the xPUSCH and the xPUCCH is punctured or contains at leastone reference or control signal.

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specificationand drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than arestrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a part hereofshow, by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specificembodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. Theembodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Such embodiments of the subject matter may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “embodiment” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any single inventive concept if more than one is in factdisclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have been illustrated anddescribed herein, it should be appreciated that any arrangementcalculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for thespecific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any andall adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations ofthe above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically describedherein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing theabove description.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “inwhich” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms“comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms“including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, UE,article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements inaddition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemedto fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the followingclaims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merelyas labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements ontheir objects.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; and processing circuitry in communication with the memory and configurable to cause a user equipment (UE) to: decode first and second physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) in a current frequency division duplex (FDD) subframe from a base station, wherein the first and second PDCCHs schedule an associated first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission and an associated second PDSCH transmission, respectively, within the current FDD subframe, wherein the first and second PDSCH transmissions are non-overlapping in time, and the second PDSCH transmission is after the first PDSCH transmission; and generate a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) for the first PDSCH transmission for transmission via a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) in the current FDD subframe.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe after the first and second PDSCH transmissions comprises symbols that overlap in time with the PUCCH.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe after the first and second PDSCH transmissions comprises a third PDSCH transmission which is associated with one of the UE or a different UE.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configurable to: generate a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission within the current FDD subframe, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe before the PUSCH transmission comprises symbols that overlap in time with the PDCCH such that the PDCCH fully overlaps the portion, and wherein for self-contained UT transmission the portion is punctured, blanked or comprises a reference or control signal from the UE.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configurable to: generate a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission within the current MD subframe, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe before the PUSCH transmission comprises another PUSCH transmission associated with one of the UE or a different UE.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configurable to: generate a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission within the current FDD subframe, wherein for self-contained downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmission, the PUSCH transmission is delayed relative to the first and second PDSCH transmissions, and an amount of delay is a parameter that is fixed by a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification or configurable on a cell-by-cell basis via a master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB) or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.
 7. An apparatus of a base station comprising: a memory; and processing circuitry in communication with the memory and configurable to: within a current frequency division duplex (FDD) subframe: generate, for transmission to a user equipment (UE) during the current FDD subframe, first and second physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs), wherein the first and second PDCCHs schedule an associated first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission and an associated second PDSCH transmission, respectively, within the current FDD subframe, wherein the first and second PDSCH transmissions are non-overlapping in time, and wherein the second PDSCH transmission is after the first PDSCH transmission; and receive a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK)/Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) for the first PDSCH: transmission via a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) in the current FDD subframe.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe after the first and second PDSCH transmissions comprises symbols that overlap in time with the PUCCH.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe after the first and second PDSCH transmissions comprises a third PDSCH transmission which is associated with one of the UE or a different UE.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry is further configurable to: receive a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission within the current FDD subframe, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe before the PUSCH comprises symbols that overlap in time with the PDCCH indicator.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the portion comprises symbols that overlap in time with the PDCCH indicator such that the PDCCH indicator fully overlaps the portion, and wherein for self-contained UL, transmission the portion is punctured, blanked or comprises a reference or control signal from the UE.
 12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry is further configurable to: receive a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission within the current FDD subframe, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe before the PUSCH transmission comprises another PUSCH transmission associated with one of the UE or a different UE.
 13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry is further configurable to: receive a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission within the current FDD subframe, wherein for self-contained downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmission, the PUSCH transmission is delayed relative to the first and second PDSCH transmissions, and an amount of delay is a parameter that is fixed by a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification or configurable on a cell-by-cell basis via a master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB) or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.
 14. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a radio; a computer-readable storage device; and processing circuitry in communication with the storage device and configurable to: decode a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a current frequency division duplex (FDD) subframe from a base station, wherein the PDCCH schedules an associated first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission and an associated second PDSCH transmission within the current FDD subframe, wherein the first and second PDSCH transmissions are consecutive in time.
 15. The UE of claim 14, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe after the first and second PDSCH transmissions comprises symbols that overlap in time with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) in the current FDD subframe.
 16. The UE of claim 14, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe after the first and second PDSCH transmissions comprises a third PDSCH transmission which is associated with one of the UE or a different UE.
 17. The UE of claim 14, wherein the processing circuitry is further configurable to: generate a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission within the current FDD subframe, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe before the PUSCH transmission comprises symbols that overlap in time with the PDCCH such that the PDCCH fully overlaps the portion.
 18. The UE of claim 17, wherein for self-contained UL transmission the portion is punctured, blanked or comprises a reference or control signal from the UE.
 19. The UE of claim 14, wherein the processing circuitry is further configurable to: generate a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission within the current FDD subframe, wherein a portion of the current FDD subframe before the PUSCH transmission comprises another PUSCH transmission associated with one of the UE or a different UE.
 20. The UE of claim 14, wherein the processing circuitry is further configurable to: generate a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission within the current FDD subframe, wherein for self-contained downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmission, the PUSCH transmission is delayed relative to the first and second PDSCH transmissions, and an amount of delay is a parameter that is fixed by a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification or configurable on a cell-by-cell basis via a master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB) or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. 